Grilled Pizza (with **lots** of pictures)

Okay, the grilled pizza experimentation we started last summer is now paying off. Things are damned close to completely dialed in. Here are two variations.

(As you look at the pictures, you'll see us using a peel and a square piece of plywood in place of a peel. Pay no attention. They are simply different pizza pictures strung together to make this story coherent. We use the peels and the plywood squares interchangeably and used both of them tonight.)

The dough recipe is a modified version of one that Cook's Illustrated published a few years ago. It is the only recipe of theirs that never worked for me. Here's my version. Note that by using a seemingly large amount of oil, the pizza won't stick to the gill. In the pictures, you might notice that I don't oil the grill at all. (What looks like rust is actually some flour that is going from golden brown to ashes):

2-1/2 cups bread flour
3/4 to 1 cup water
2 T olive oil
2 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fast acting instant yeast



Add the flour and yeast to the food processor



Add the sugar, salt, and instant yeast



Pulse to mix the dry stuff



Add the olive oil



Add the water, slowly ..... slowly being the operative word.



When the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the processor bowl, stop adding the water. You can juuuuuust see the dough ball in this picture.



Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with saran wrap and allow to proof until doubled (or even tripled)



While the dough is proofing, do your mise en place. I started with the fresh tomatoes (farmer's market local tomatoes this time). I slice them and then salt them to draw out the water. set them aside to give up their water.



We also did a salmon pizza. For this, I am slicing some of the gravlax I made a week or so ago. We normally use some smoked salmon scraps we get at the grocery store (sold to be used in anything that wants chopped up salmon bits).But since I had the gravlax, I decided to use that.



I also chopped up some fresh parsley (kept separate) and oregano and basil (mixed together). Sparkly sliced the mozzarella and chopped up a whole big bunch of roasted garlic. Lastly, I took the tomatoes, diced them up, and pressed the last of the water from them in a small colander.



Here's everything we used (apart from the dough ingredients), going (sorta) clockwise from the olive oil bottle: Lemon quarters, chopped and drained tomatoes (in colander and in small container), salt and pepper, oregano and basil, parsley, parmesan cheese, mozzarella, chopped roasted garlic, thin slice gravlax.



When the dough is proofed, start your grill and set a little higher than medium. Allow it to preheat. Now punch down the dough and divide into four portions.



Form each portion into a ball. Roll out each ball into a circle about 12" in diameter.



Place the rolled out dough on a very well floured peel.



Slip the dough from the peel to the grill.



Grill until the bottom is nicely charred and the whole crust is a little stiff. Rotate frequently with tongs and also use the tongs to break the bubbles that will form. The crust needs constant tending and is done in about 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the heat. Lower heat is better. highest heat will burn the crusts,



Use the tongs to slide the dough back onto the peel and then flip it so the cooked side is up.



Now it is time to dress the pizza. Go light on the toppings and put them on the cooked side of the dough. Here, Sparkly is making a Margherita Pizza. She has lightly oiled the crust and has added the chopped roasted garlic. You could also use raw garlic or lightly sauteed garlic, depending on your tastes. You could also cook whole garlic cloves in olive oil, discard the cloves, and just use the oil for an even milder taste. We like either roasted or raw garlic.



Here's the fully dressed pizza. It has tomatoes, parm, mozz, parsley, basil, and oregano. Don't add salt. The tomatoes and parm have plenty.



Here's the salmon pizza. Oil the crust, add the salmon in small bits and the mozz. Top with fresh grated black pepper. This is a surprisingly sophisticated taste. If you have kids, skip this one. They won't appreciate it - or worse, will like it, the cost be damned!



Slide the dressed pizza back onto the grill to finish the bottom and melt the toppings. Here's a Marghrita going on.



I use a big, heavy duty aluminum foil pan as a cover for the pizza at this stage. It reflects and concentrates some heat on the toppings and helps the cheese to melt. But lift it and check the pizza regularly to avoid burning the bottom. I also rotate the pizza as it cooks to help further to keep it from burning.



Here's the finished Margherita.



When the salmon is done, give it a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.



And here's dinner. Two of each pizza and clown wine. Yes, the label is "Beauzeaux"

I personally don't like fish or salmon on my pizza, but I *love* margherita pizzas. I've been on a pizza quest for years. I'm getting it down to a science, but the next move is to build an outdoor pizza oven.

I've come to believe the dough isn't as important (although it can't suck) as the cooking environment - high heat, pizza stone, whatever.

Have you considered moving to New Hampshire? Specifically southern New Hampshire? Even more specifically my zip code? I think we could enjoy this.

It needs the high oil content so it doesn't stick. I started by using my tried and true oven dough and it was not a pleasant experience. I had to oil the grates between each pizza or it stuck badly. By upping the oil, it worked far better.

I also used regular yeast. Cook's Illustrated called for instant yeast. My own decision, after trying their recipe, was that since we're not developing flavor with a long proof, why not just go for speed with the fast rise yeast? The end result is there's no discernible taste difference between regular and fast rise yeast.

My quarrel with CI's recipe is the amount of either water or flour. They call for 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of water. If you do this, you get a batter, not a dough. I had to either increase the flour or decrease the water. 3/4:2 or 1:2-1/2 work pretty well as starting points. Adjust at the end, right in the blender.

The CI recipe also says that 2 T of whole wheat flour is an option that helps the dough's taste. I have yet to try that option.

We've been talking for years about an outdoor oven. Have you seen this site? They have plans for a do it yourself domed oven in the shape in use in Italy since the days of Pompeii.

http://www.fornobravo.com/pompeii_oven/pompeii_oven.html

Here's their finished oven, but missing any fancy housing or covering. It is just parged on the dome and raw on the base. I'd want it to look a little better than that.

I may start a thread on pizza ovens later today - I'll have to track down some of my resources but I was looking heavily at it and collected a lot of stuff and plans, and photos. I even contacted my town's fire marshal and someone with the building codes to see what was allowed.

Only thing I need now is some time, muscle, and money. Had to scrap it last year, but I am going to have a pizza oven, dammit.

I looked at Bread Builders and even got their book. That's not really the oven I want, though. Too much fuel to fire it and too long a wait time to use it. Besides, it is really a bread oven, not a pizza oven.

There was a guy in Australia who had a lot of information up, too. He builds a variant on the Bread Builder oven.

I also looked into mud ovens. Easy, but not long lasting.

I liked the Forno Bravo because it is first a pizza oven and secondarily a bread oven. It fires fast and you can do pizzas fast, but it also loses heat owing to a lesser thermal mass. That means maybe one bread baking per fire. Which is fine with me. I'm far more interested in pizzas and other fast cooking items than bread. I also like that the Forno Bravo is a really easy oven to build. The base looks to me to be harder than the oven and the dome, actually. Or at least more back breaking.

and I also got the CD from Rado Hand (the guy in Australia). I just got home, so I'll start up a thread later this evening.

Masterful! Never considered grilled pizza before.

And even I can follow the recipe. Thanks so much for the pix.
Salud!

About how long does it take the dough to rise?


You have that Telly Savalas flare.
What Telly did for lollipops, you could do for tutus!

This really is an item you can do when you want. Make the dough and let it proof. Do your mis en place. Take a break. Make the pizzas. Eat.

I love your picture tutorial too! You've inspired me. I never thought of pizza on the grill, but it sounds yummy- Your choice of toppings sound scrumptious too! Thank you for sharing... :hi:

I'd love them both.

That was really fun and appetizing to watch take place. Beautiful results! :applause: :applause: :applause:

Is there some chewiness, or is it very crisp like a Roman pizza?

...... but since we make it purposely thin, it tends more toward crispy. Were I to divide this dough into only three portions and made them the same diameter, it would be chewier.

Also, it would be chewier if I cooked it a bit less. It is quite edible with less grilling time. But the chewiness is at the cost of some loss of the nice smokey/char taste we really love.

and do I see an itty bitty young lady in that final pic?

Awesome pics, I love grilled pizza.

(he's not wearing any pants)

Actually, its the same uniform I wear year round ....... shortz anna tee shirt ...... no shoes.

I know you have been on that "special" diet for awhile, and I wanted to hand out a compliment!

Bad Tab upthread! :)

:spank:

Here, have some food porn:

I like to say I'm twice the person she is. She laughs and points out that twice the heft is not the same as twice substance.

I started running last week as I have hit my one year smoke free zone, and feel I got all the weight my bod was going to give me. I now have to retrain my body to do different things than it has for the past 30 years.

Just one week of 3 miles every other day has removed 6 pounds. I could never run before, but am doing OK so far...and my diet is OK, as my cholesterol levels are in great shape....my running style is brutal, I tend to drill my heel into the ground and run like an elephant...not pretty or graceful...and yes I have been fitted for over-protanating as I wear every shoe I have to the inside and have no real arch...I wear a Brooks running shoe...pricey but it really does make a difference.

Seeing you guys fix great food like that, in pics, will make other folks really want to do this too...even the noobs...we all should do more cooking event pics.

I enjoy doing them, but man, you gotta plan ahead and take lots of pictures. Bearfan (who hasn't been around in a while, is, unless I am mistaken, the one who started it. He used to post them weekly, it seems.

I do all my workout in the gym. The weather is so brutal here that if I skipped every day that is too hot to be out running I'd be lucky to do once a week. As it stands now, I do three good workouts a week and then stay active between times. The treadmill is sooooooo much easier on one's knees.

And to be honest, I'm quite proud of how well I've managed to do after all my years of smoking and eating poorly. I do miss some things, like a **lot** of pasta and all my sausages and salamis. I'm managed to cut way down on the pasta and use more whole grain pastas in place of semolina. I eat some chicken sausages. I found a wonderful chicken andouille at Costco that I use in place of all the other sausages I loved to grill. These satisfy my craving for great big flavors without the transfat penalty.

All in all, I just eat smart and stay aware ..... and exercise regularly.

Gotta question for you ..... smoking. Do you still get these weird cravings? Overall, I don't miss it and have had no ongoing cravings for it. In fact, the thought or smell of it is really bothersome to me now. But every now and again I get these overwhelming desires to smoke. I can always get control of them and have never cheated, but its like WHOA! Where did **that** come from????

added on edit:

Yeah, Sparkly is blessed with great genes and an ability to continue to dance professionally on the north side of age 50. Admittedly she doesn't dance nearly as much as she used to, but if she wants to she could. And look better than most of the younger women in her company!!!!

And SparklyJr is deserving of the name. I am surrounded by beauty. Me? I'm a clown. These were taken two (I think) Halloweens ago. I was still smoking cigars back then.





They're unchanged and I still have no hair.

When I first saw your username, I thought that you were either a husband that was "too sparkly" which seemed a weird thing to say, or you had a husband that was too sparkly.

After some posts, obviously, I got that cleared up. :)

She'd have to be a great woman if she'd abide a man with a cigar, some Tinkerbell wand and whatever the hell it is that you're wearing on your waist.

I have a picture similar to the first one (as far as my first wife goes - I've since remarried and we don't really dress up), but I don't think I have it digitized. If I can find it I'll post it.

...... tutu.

You gotta problem wit dat?

;)

Far be it from me to argue with a guy wielding a Tinkerbell wand.

with 90+ degree heat and pain.

Smoking - lemme tell ya I quit cold turkey a year ago. No patches, no gum, no drugs. I had a good plan, worked with a quit line counselor for a couple of weeks before I went, and I also timed it with some surgery I was going to have...I thought that recovering from that and feeling crappy would help with quitting, and it did a bit.

I get those out of the blue cravings all the time...WHAMO...and I tell you, those are dangerous times for me. I could EASILY go to the store and get me a pack. My father says that even after being smoke free for 15 years, there is not a week or month that goes by that he does not have a wham-mo urge too.

I have learned to identify my cravings...and they are usually social in nature...like after I have accomplished something hard, or while I am doing the company books (taking a break...to what? Smoke?...no), or while driving home from work....the car is the MOST dangerous place because I am seconds away from being at a place to purchase....but MOST of the time, it is sheer boredom. I also learned to identify those danger times to keep from eating during them as well...I think I have been about 75% successful. I can honestly tell you that smoking put 15 pounds back on me, and I would like to retrain my body to handle things differently without nictone...I have time and patience so I am pretty sure I will be OK.

Just recognize WHY you have that craving....I beth you can figure it out....I will also mention one thing with a bit of shame....I can still leave the grocery store and walk past where the employees are smoking and stand there and breathe...and I can tell someone smoking my brand as well. Most of the time, I am not too interested and breathe for a second and proceed on...when someone is smoking my brand, I SWEAR I get more saliva in my mouth and my heart rate goes up...sad and pathetic.

I am so glad you are doing OK..and you are definitely surrounded by beauty!

it's a horrible disease to die from (I have relatives that did)

Cravings are weird. I never really smoked. I tried it as a teenager, for a couple of weeks. Didn't get into it. In college, on the rare occasion, usually with a female date, I'd take a puff or two but I didn't care.

Fast forward 25 years, and oddly enough I get a craving even though I was never hooked and it's been 25 years since a cigarette touched my mouth, and yet it occasionally seems oddly attractive.

I have other addictions I'm fighting, so don't think I'm addiction free, but I was surprised recently to have a craving for a cigarette since I haven't REALLY smoked for 32 years, and even then rarely, and the last time was 25 years go. Nicotine is an intoxicant or addictor in some form - it's weird.

it really does help that Ohio went smoke free everywhere inside (even private clubs that is still in appeal) in the spring of 2007...because if I was in a smoky bar? I do not think I could keep from smoking. I am doing OK bu realize too that I am a nicotine addict, for life.

Lookin' good! Alla ya! :hi:

Nice to put a face to the name. And Sparkly is just that...sparkly! LOL

I might never have tried, though, had you not done this picture thread. I always wanted to try grilled pizza but something told me it was one of those things that would require some experimentation.

The pictures turned out great!

Thanks for sharing with us. :)

husb2sparkly, you look like such a nut--the kind of person I'd buy a drink for in a bar.



Cher

.... even if I do "pull my finger" jokes.

:hi:

Me jealous.